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Suns’ Big Three On Track To Debut Wednesday

December 13th, 2023 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 13, 2:20pm: After missing Beal’s return on Tuesday, Durant has been upgraded to probable to play on Wednesday vs. Brooklyn, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that all three Suns stars are expected to be available vs. the Nets.

DECEMBER 12, 1:08pm: Suns guard Bradley Beal is no longer on the injury report and will be available on Tuesday when Phoenix hosts the Warriors, but Kevin Durant has been ruled out due to a left ankle sprain.

It’s the second consecutive missed game for Durant and it means we won’t get to see the Suns’ big three of Beal, Durant, and Devin Booker take the floor together today.

Phoenix hosts the Nets on Wednesday, the Knicks on Friday, and the Wizards on Sunday, so if Durant is close to returning and Beal and Booker stay healthy, the trio could make its season debut later in the week.

Beal’s Suns debut was delayed this fall due to back issues. He appeared in just three games for Phoenix in early November before those back problems flared up again, forcing the team to rule him out for several more weeks. Beal played alongside Durant in those three games, but Booker was unavailable at the time as a result of a calf strain.

While it may take some time to work out the kinks, the expectation is that the Suns will have one of the NBA’s best offenses once all three stars are healthy and active. Even with just one or two available at a time so far this season, the team has performed relatively well, posting a 12-10 record with the NBA’s 11th-best offensive rating.

The Suns will also be without Grayson Allen (groin), Nassir Little (concussion protocol), and Damion Lee (knee surgery) on Tuesday.

Warriors, Knicks, Lakers Top Latest NBA Franchise Valuations

December 13th, 2023 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico (subscription required), who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2023 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $8.28 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $7 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $7.43 billion, while the Lakers come in at $7.34 billion, per Sportico.

As Badenhausen details, Sportico spoke to more than 30 team executives, owners, investors, bankers, consultants, and lawyers in compiling their latest NBA franchise valuations. According to Sportico, the average value of an NBA team is up 33% from a year ago and 70% from when the site first started publishing valuations three years ago.

A combination of factors are contributing to the soaring value of NBA franchises, says Baudenhausen. Those factors include national media deals, international opportunities, scarcity (ie. only 30 teams are available), and an equal 1/30th stake in the league.

In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico in recent years and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we’re highlighting Sportico’s projections in 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But thse projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2023:

Golden State Warriors: $8.28 billion
New York Knicks: $7.43 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $7.34 billion
Boston Celtics: $5.12 billion
Chicago Bulls: $4.83 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $4.56 billion
Miami Heat: $4.17 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $4.13 billion
Toronto Raptors: $4.11 billion
Houston Rockets: $4.05 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $4.03 billion
Phoenix Suns: $4 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $3.98 billion
Sacramento Kings: $3.46 billion
Denver Nuggets: $3.4 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $3.35 billion
Washington Wizards: $3.33 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $3.29 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.28 billion
Indiana Pacers: $3.27 billion
Utah Jazz: $3.24 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.22 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $3.2 billion
Orlando Magic: $3.12 billion
Detroit Pistons: $3.1 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.08 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $3 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $2.94 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $2.82 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $2.72 billion

For the most part, the most significant valuation increases (by percentage) within the last year belonged to the teams on the bottom half of this list. Besides the Bucks, whose projection rose by 32%, every franchise in the bottom 10 received at least a 50% bump from Sportico’s 2022 valuations.

The Nuggets, who cracked the top half of this list following their 2023 championship, were another big riser — their valuation increased by 60% and they moved up six spots.

It’s worth noting that the Mavericks‘ reported valuation in Mark Cuban‘s sale to the Adelson and Dumont families reportedly came in around $3.5 billion, well below Sportico’s valuation.

However, more recent reporting has suggested the final valuation will be closer to $4 billion when the transaction closes. That was also a unique situation since Cuban is retaining control of basketball operations as part of the sale agreement, despite surrendering majority control of the business. He’ll hang onto about 25% of the franchise, according to Sportico.

Kings Notes: Physicality, Len, Fox, Monk, Giles

December 13th, 2023 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Kings have lost nine games so far this season, those losses have come against just four separate teams. Sacramento has lost to Pelicans three times and the Clippers, Warriors, and Rockets twice apiece — Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of the Clippers was the second time in two weeks that the Kings have fallen to L.A.

Speaking on Tuesday to reporters, including Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, head coach Mike Brown suggested that the Kings’ record so far indicates his club struggles to match up with the length and physicality of bigger teams.

“Houston’s big,” Brown said. “New Orleans is big. The Clippers are big, and obviously they’re different because some of them have scoring at four or five positions, but it’s about the level of physicality that our opponents have brought to the game when it comes to the common denominator for the losses.”

Besides being disappointed with the lack of physicality and grit his team showed on Tuesday, Brown was also perturbed by his players’ focus on addressing issues on the offensive end rather than prioritizing getting defensive stops.

“At the end of the first half, they shot 60% from the floor and scored 70 points, and throughout that whole first half, coming from our players, it’s ‘Hey, we’ve got to swing the ball. We’ve got to do this offensively. We’ve got to do that offensively,'” Brown said. “That can’t be our mindset, not when a team’s shooting 60% from the floor and scoring 70 points on you and getting 32 points in the paint in one half. Your mindset has to be: Somebody has to get a stop.”

Here’s more on the Kings:

Reserve center Alex Len, who is recovering from a high right ankle sprain, has resumed on-court activities but isn’t running or jumping yet, he tells Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. The team initially announced on November 17 – nearly four weeks ago – that Len was expected to be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks, so his return is still a little ways off.
De’Aaron Fox reportedly turned down a two-year, maximum-salary extension offer from the Kings prior to the season in the hopes of landing a more significant payday in a year or two. So what might his next deal look like? Keith Smith of Spotrac digs into that topic, exploring a few different scenarios that depend on whether or not Fox qualifies for a super-max contract.
Kings guard Malik Monk was hit with a $2,000 flopping fine for a play that took place in Monday’s win over Brooklyn, per the NBA (Twitter link). The video of the play can be found right here.
Monday’s return to Sacramento was a “dream come true” for former first-round pick Harry Giles, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Now a member of the Nets, Giles spent his first three years in the NBA with the Kings and said he misses the fans in Sacramento. “I don’t know what it is. It just feels like home. It feels like we’ve known each other forever,” Giles told Anderson of The Bee. “Some people are just meant for you. Sacramento fans are meant for me and I’m meant for them. That’s a mutual thing we have in common. I feel like I’m from here almost.”

Warriors Reportedly Offered Klay Thompson Two-Year Extension

December 13th, 2023 at 10:50am CST by Luke Adams

Before the regular season began, the Warriors offered Klay Thompson a two-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $48MM, Shams Charania of The Athletic said today on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link).

Thompson obviously passed on that offer, with multiple reports at the time suggesting that he and the Warriors were far apart on both years and money. He remains extension-eligible and could sign a new deal with Golden State at any time before he reaches free agency on July 1, but both Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski have indicated there’s a very real possibility he reaches the open market next summer.

Thompson is in the final season of a five-year, $190MM contract that is paying him $43.2MM in 2023/24. He missed two full seasons due to knee and Achilles injuries at the start of the contract and appeared in just 32 regular season games in 2021/22.

After a solid showing in ’22/23, Thompson’s numbers are down across the board in the first couple months of this season — he’s averaging 15.4 points per game on .397/.343/.889 shooting and has recorded roughly the same number of assists (44) and turnovers (43). His field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and turnover rate are career worsts and that scoring average is his lowest since his rookie season in 2011/12.

There has been a sense that Thompson’s contract situation may be weighing on him and factoring into his slow start to the season. Head coach Steve Kerr has been patient with the veteran sharpshooter, keeping him in the starting lineup for all 22 games he has played so far this fall. However, Kerr did hold Thompson – and fellow slumping veteran Andrew Wiggins – out of Tuesday’s closing lineup, as we detailed earlier today.

“I deserved to be benched tonight. I played like crap,” Thompson said after the game, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “If you’ve ever played basketball before, you know what you’re capable of. You always want to be out there competing. That’s just facts. Whatever though. It happens. I deserved to be benched. I’ve been playing like crap. Twenty games in. I haven’t caught a good rhythm.”

Another long-term, maximum-salary contract for Thompson was never a realistic expectation, but teammate Draymond Green – who, like Thompson, is 33 years old – received a four-year, $100MM commitment from Golden State over the summer. With that in mind, it’s perhaps not surprising that the five-time All-Star would view a two-year, $48MM offer as insufficient after averaging 21.9 PPG with a .412 3PT% last season.

Still, unless he’s able to turn things around this season and bust out of his slump, it’s hard to imagine the Warriors adding any more years or money to the preseason offer they made to Thompson.

For what it’s worth, Thompson has said he “absolutely” wants to spend the rest of his playing career in Golden State.

OKC Voters Approve Funding For New Thunder Arena

December 13th, 2023 at 9:39am CST by Luke Adams

Residents of Oklahoma City overwhelmingly approved a proposal to use taxpayer dollars to fund the majority of a new arena for the Thunder, according to reports from Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman and Sean Murphy of The Associated Press.

The vote, which occurred on Tuesday, asked OKC residents whether or not to approve a 1% sales tax that would fund approximately $850MM of the arena project. According to the Oklahoma State Election Board, 71% of the respondents voted in favor of the plan.

Under the proposed deal, Thunder owner Clay Bennett will also contribute $50MM to the construction of the arena, which is expected to cost around $900MM.

An exact location for the new building has yet to be determined, though mayor David Holt said finalizing that detail will be “one of the first orders of business.” According to Mussatto, the most likely location is the land currently occupied by Prairie Surf Studios (the former home of the Cox Convention Center).

The hope is that the new arena will be ready for the 2029/30 season. The Thunder have committed to play in the building for at least 25 years, which means the franchise would remain in Oklahoma City through at least 2054.

Since moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder (formerly the SuperSonics) have played in the Paycom Center, which opened in 2002. OKC voters previously approved a sales tax to finance upgrades to that arena — that tax will remain in effect until April 1, 2028, which is when this newly approved tax will begin.

“A signature of the Oklahoma City Thunder, beyond the team’s success on the floor, has been their deep connection to their fans and their community,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement (Twitter link via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman). “This vote for a new arena is another example of that bond.

“We are grateful to the people of Oklahoma City for the confidence they have shown in both the Thunder and the NBA as we embark on a new era of global sports and entertainment.”

Wizards Announce Plan To Move From D.C. To Virginia

December 13th, 2023 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

Monumental Sports, the Ted Leonsis-led company that owns the Wizards, has formally announced a plan to move the team from D.C. to Alexandria, Virginia. The NHL’s Washington Capitals, which are also controlled by Monumental Sports, would be part of the move too.

Virginia state lawmakers voted on Monday to move forward with a proposal to build a new arena and “entertainment district” in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood, according to a report from The Washington Post. The plan still requires approval from the full General Assembly and local officials.

According to today’s announcement, the goal is to have the arena completed and the Wizards and Capitals moved in for 2028.

“We are committed to providing world-class fan experiences while continuously evolving our teams, deepening community ties, and solidifying our role as leaders at the forefront of sports and technology,” Leonsis said in a statement. “The opportunity to expand to this 70-acre site in Virginia, neighboring industry-leading innovators, and a great academic partner, would enable us to further our creativity and achieve next-generation, leading work – all while keeping our fans and the community at the forefront of everything we do.”

Monumental Sports’ announcement and the Washington Post’s reporting indicates that the Virginia plan will be a public-private partnership, with money coming from both Leonsis and local taxpayers.

As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN notes, Washington, D.C. city officials have been making an effort to keep the Wizards in the downtown Capital One Arena, where the Wizards and Capitals have played since 1997. Leonsis has been seeking $600MM in public funds to renovate the arena; on Monday, mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new bill offering Monumental Sports $500MM in financing for that project.

“This proposal represents our best and final offer and is the next step in partnering with Monumental Sports to breathe new life and vibrancy into the neighborhood and to keep the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals where they belong — in Washington, DC,” Bowser said, per Wojnarowski.

However, it sounds like that bill may be in vain, as Leonsis’ priority now is to move forward with the new entertainment district in Alexandria. The proposed complex would feature a new arena, a practice facility for the Wizards, Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s corporate headquarters, a media studio for Monumental Sports Network, a performing arts venue, and an expanded esports facility.

Assuming the Virginia plan proceeds without any snags, Leonsis’ goal is to update Capital One Arena to be a flexible arena that could host between 10,000 and 20,000 people and would continue to host concerts, sports, and other events — it would also become the home arena for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.

As Wojnarowski writes, Leonsis’ teams have the ability to exit their lease with Capital One Arena in 2027. The Alexandria plan calls for a Virginia stadium authority to own the proposed complex and lease it to Monumental Sports & Entertainment, according to The Washington Post’s report, which says Monumental would have a lease in excess of 30 years.

Draymond Green Likely Facing Another Suspension Following Tuesday Ejection

December 13th, 2023 at 7:15am CST by Luke Adams

Warriors forward Draymond Green was ejected from a game for the third time this season on Tuesday, earning a flagrant 2 foul for striking Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the head during the third quarter of Phoenix’s win (Twitter video link via TSN Sports).

The NBA is expected to review the incident before the Warriors’ game against the Clippers on Thursday and will likely suspend Green for a second time this fall, according to Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. The former Defensive Player of the Year was previously suspended five games for putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock, with the league citing Green’s “history of unsportsmanlike acts” when announcing that penalty.

“I am not one to apologize for things I mean to do, but I do apologize to Jusuf because I didn’t intend to hit him,” Green said after the game, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. “I sell calls with my arms … so I was selling the call … and I swung and unfortunately I hit him.

“… You guys have known me long enough, if I intended to do something, I am not apologizing. But I did make contact with him, so I do apologize. … It’s a hard hit.”

Although the blow sent Nurkic to the floor, the big man was able to finish the game. After the victory, he told reporters that the play had “nothing to do with basketball,” while Suns head coach Frank Vogel referred to it as “reckless (and) dangerous,” according to Andrews.

“I’m sensitive to our guys getting hit on plays like that,” Vogel said. “I didn’t like it. The refs did what they had to do. The league will do what they have to do.”

Another suspension for Green could result in more playing time for young players like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and perhaps Trayce Jackson-Davis, as well as veterans Dario Saric and Kevon Looney.

Both Kuminga and Saric, as well as rookie Brandin Podziemski, were part of Golden State’s closing lineup on Tuesday, alongside Stephen Curry and Chris Paul, with Green unavailable and starters Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Looney on the bench.

Thompson, whose scoring and shooting numbers this season are well below his career norms, told reporters after the game that it was “strange” to be benched down the stretch, but he didn’t question head coach Steve Kerr‘s decision.

“I played like crap,” Thompson said, per Andrews. “If you’ve ever played basketball before, you know what you are capable of. You always want to be out there competing. That’s just facts … but I deserved to be benched. I’ve been playing like crap. Twenty games in, I haven’t found a rhythm.”

Atlantic Notes: Bridges, Johnson, Grimes, Quickley, Winslow

December 12th, 2023 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson, two of the players the Nets acquired in the Kevin Durant blockbuster with the Suns last season, will play in Phoenix against their former team on Wednesday.

Bridges is looking forward to it.

“Yeah, excited. Just a lot of years there, a lot of friends there. A lot of fans through the whole journey. It’s going to be exciting,” Bridges told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Obviously I’m not excited right now to talk about it, but when it comes, I will. But just get ready, main focus is to go out there and get a win.”

Johnson echoed those comments.

“I’m excited. It’s appreciation you gain for a city and for the fans when you play there for a while,” he said. “And as crazy as it is, you don’t know. That last game I played there, I didn’t know it’d be my last game in a Suns uniform. So it’ll be fun.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks guard Quentin Grimes was moved to the second unit and he’s thriving off the bench. In the last two games, he has averaged 16 points on 10.5 shot attempts. “I’m just out there playing free, really,” he told Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “Everybody sees it, just from me going out there, playing with guys trying to get me open shots. It’s easy and fun playing out with the second unit for sure.”
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley is listed as questionable with knee inflammation for Wednesday’s game vs. Utah, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post tweets. He didn’t play against Toronto on Monday.
Justise Winslow, who is trying to work his way back into the league, debuted for the Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905, on Tuesday, NBA G League tweets. He scored 13 points in 16 minutes. Winslow was waived by Toronto during training camp.

Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson To Miss At Least Two Weeks

December 12th, 2023 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson will be out at least two weeks due to a leg injury, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets via a team release.

According to the team, Clarkston suffered a thigh injury in late November, which led to more issues.

The statement read, “During Utah’s game versus New Orleans on Nov. 27, Jordan Clarkson sustained a right thigh contusion after falling into the stands. Following last night’s game against Oklahoma City, he experienced continued hamstring discomfort. Upon further magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Clarkson was diagnosed with a right bicep femoris strain. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.”

Clarkson is averaging a career-best 4.9 assists in 19 games played but his overall offensive numbers have dipped compared to last season, when he averaged a career-high 20.8 points per game while shooting 44.4%. He’s down to 16.6 PPG on 39.9% shooting so far this fall.

Clarkson renegotiated and extended his contract in July. He’s making $23.49MM this season, though his salary drops to $14.1MM next season and $14.3MM in 2025/26.

Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker and Kris Dunn could all get more playing time with Clarkson sidelined.

Utah’s frontcourt of Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, John Collins are all listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks. That trio didn’t play against the Thunder.

Southwest Notes: Williamson, Spurs, Mavs’ Sale, Morant

December 12th, 2023 at 8:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following his poor performance during the in-season tournament last week, Zion Williamson received plenty of criticism in the media. He responded with a dominant performance against Minnesota on Monday, pouring in 36 points in the Pelicans’ 121-107 win.

As for the criticism, this is what Williamson had to say, as relayed by the New Orleans’ Times-Picayune’s Rod Walker: “If it comes from a great place, and a place where they want to see me do better, thank you. If it comes from anywhere else, everybody’s entitled to their own opinion. Can’t control that.”

However, there’s no guarantee he will play against the Wizards on Wednesday. Williamson suffered a left ankle sprain in the late going on Monday and is listed as questionable, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Spurs’ lack of a lead ball-handler was apparent once again in their 17th consecutive loss on Monday. They shot 5-for-41 from the field in the 93-82 loss to Houston and their point total was the lowest for any NBA team this season. Kelly Iko of The Athletic notes that former starting point guard Tre Jones logged just 16 minutes. “He’s definitely the floor general,” Keldon Johnson said. “He gets them (the second unit) into sets.”
While Mark Cuban is in the process of selling a majority stake in the Mavericks franchise, there’s one holdout among the minority owners. Mary Stanton informed the franchise she won’t be selling her stake at this time, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, who previously reported that all of the minority shareholders would be bought out. Stanton is the widow of Horace Ardinger, an original shareholder who bought a 4.13% stake in the franchise in 1980. A Board of Governors vote on the sale will be held on Dec. 20.
With the 25-game suspension of Grizzlies star Ja Morant nearing its end, he found himself testifying during the first day of an immunity hearing at Shelby County Circuit Court on Monday, Baxter Holmes of ESPN reports. Morant claimed he acted in self-defense when he punched a teenager at his home in July 2022. The incident occurred during a pickup basketball game. Morant said the teen struck him with a basketball. “I hit him first — to protect myself,” Morant said.